Skipton  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Skipton,North Yorkshire England | ||||
| Coordinates | 53°57′31″N2°01′35″W / 53.9586°N 2.0264°W /53.9586; -2.0264 | ||||
| Grid reference | SD983513 | ||||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||||
| Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
| Transit authority | West Yorkshire (Metro) | ||||
| Platforms | 4 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | SKI | ||||
| Fare zone | 7 | ||||
| Classification | DfT category D | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Midland Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1847 | Opened | ||||
| 1876 | Relocated | ||||
| 1888 | Ilkley platforms added | ||||
| 1965 | Ilkley platforms closed | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  1.212 million | ||||
| 2020/21 | 0.366 million | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.944 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 1.099 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 1.178 million | ||||
Listed Building – Grade II | |||||
| Feature | Skipton Railway Station | ||||
| Designated | 4 April 1991 | ||||
| Reference no. | 1249186[1] | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
Skipton railway station is aGrade II listed[1] station which serves the market town ofSkipton inNorth Yorkshire,England. It is a stop on theAiredale Line, which provides access to destinations such asLeeds,Bradford,Carlisle,Lancaster andMorecambe. The station is operated byNorthern Trains and is situated 27 miles (43 km) north-west ofLeeds; it is located on Broughton Road.
As the "Gateway to theYorkshire Dales", Skipton historically has had high volumes of leisure traffic.Ilkley railway station serves as an alternative for this function being at the southern end of theDales Way.
The original station was opened on 7 September 1847 by theLeeds and Bradford Extension Railway, as a temporary terminus of its line fromBradford.[2][3] The line was extended toColne a year later on 2 October 1848.[2]
Initially, passengers would leave the train at Skipton for onward travel to the villages ofWharfedale by horse-drawn coach.[4] There are still over 20 hotels clustered around the station, including the historic Herriots Hotel (formerly the Midland Hotel).[5]
The next year, the"little" North Western Railway opened a line from Skipton toIngleton on 30 July 1849; this was eventually extended toLancaster andMorecambe in 1850.[3]
On 30 April 1876, Skipton station was relocated a quarter of a mile north-west of its original location.[6] By now, both the Leeds and Bradford and North Western railways had been absorbed by theMidland Railway. The new station coincided with the opening of the Midland'sSettle-Carlisle Line, which made Skipton a station on theLondon St Pancras toGlasgow main line.[7][8] The new station had four platforms and cost over £15,000,[6] compared with the original station's cost of £2,300.[2] Platform 1 was a bay platform at the Bradford end, adjacent to the station building along with through platform 2, while platforms 3 and 4 formed an island platform.[9]
On 1 October 1888, platforms 5 and 6 were added to serve theSkipton to Ilkley Line, which opened that day. These platforms were at a slightly higher level on a rising gradient, as the new line ran south-west of the existing line and then crossed over it by bridge eastwards.[10][11][12][13] These platforms were also later used by theYorkshire Dales Railway, a short branch toGrassington from 1902 to 1930.[14] Passenger services to Ilkley ceased on 22 March 1965,[15] after which platforms 5 and 6 were closed to passengers and their access subway was closed off.[9] However, the line through platform 5 is still in use as a single-track freight line toSwinden Quarry via the former Yorkshire Dales line. The track through platform 6 has been lifted.[12] The 1847 station buildings survived intact, latterly used as offices, until 1967 when they were demolished; the site is now occupied by a supermarket.
The line toColne closed on 2 February 1970[16] and its tracks were lifted the following year. The disused formation is still visible, though the A629 bypass road occupies a short section immediately west of the former junction with the line to Carlisle & Lancaster. An organisation calledSELRAP is campaigning for the reinstatement of the link and runs occasional charter trains between the two stations, using a long diversionary route to point out the eleven-mile "missing link".[17]
In the 1970s, the track was removed from platform 1 and platform 4 was used as a siding. However, all four platforms were put back in use when the track layout and signalling were updated in 1994 for electrification.[9] As part of this work, both remaining signal boxes were closed and demolished (control initially passing to Leeds PSB and eventually to the IECC atYork) and the former goods yard was converted for use as acarriage depot, complete with a new washer plant. This was upgraded and expanded in 2011 to add capacity for a further three units.[18] SeveralEMU andDMU sets are stored there overnight and at weekends.
In 1998, the station underwent complete renovation, in preparation for the introduction of directInterCity services toLondon.[19] In 2004, the station underwent another minor renovation in preparation for a visit byPrince Charles.[20] Following a change of cleaning contract in early 2007, users of the station began to complain about an alleged deterioration in cleanliness at the station, particularly in the waiting rooms.[21]
The station is used for the overnight servicing of trains. On 9 August 2003, anArriva Trains Northern employee was seriously assaulted by a group of vandals after challenging two males daubinggraffiti on a stabled train.[22]
Major alterations were made to the station when the 2011Eureka EC clock-face timetable came into effect,[23] including a northbound Sundays-only service from the capital.[24]
The station has four platforms. It is staffed on a part-time basis and a ticket office is available at most times, along with automatic ticket machines. Ticket barriers are in operation and aPenalty fare scheme was implemented on the Airedale Line routes in December 2017.[25] Step-free access is available to all platforms from the station entrance, with platforms 3 and 4 via subway.
Skipton comes under the Dales Railcard area. There are three seated waiting rooms available, luggage trolleys, a small café, toilets, a post box and a pay-phone. There is ataxi rank immediately outside the station, bus links nearby and the car park has spaces for 100 vehicles.[26]
Skipton is served by twotrain operating companies.
Northern Trains operates services on the following routes:[27]
London North Eastern Railway operates a daily return service from Skipton toLondon King's Cross, via Leeds; the morning southbound train does not run on Sundays.[28]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keighley | London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line (Limited service) | Terminus | ||
| Keighley | Northern Trains Leeds to Morecambe Line | Gargrave | ||
| Keighley | Northern Trains Settle-Carlisle Line | Gargrave | ||
| Cononley | Northern Trains Airedale Line | Terminus | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Embsay | Midland Railway Skipton to Ilkley Line | Terminus | ||
| Rylstone | Midland Railway Yorkshire Dales Railway | Terminus | ||
| Cononley | Midland Railway Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway | Elslack | ||
| Terminus | Midland Railway "Little" North Western Railway | Gargrave | ||
Skipton is likely to see changes over coming years, in order to cope with expected growth:
Since preservation, theEmbsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway has held long-term plans to extend into Skipton.
TheIlkley-bound platforms (5 & 6) were made redundant in 1965; however,Network Rail has carried out a survey for the reinstatement of the connecting points between theEmbsay line and the freight line to Grassington, and the reinstatement of the platform 5 at Skipton. If funding is made available, then the line could be extended.[36]
Platform 6 may also be reinstated as arun-round loop as part of the project.
